![]() ![]() Too, there was the belief that the minuscule US Navy could do little against the might of a Royal Navy honed by nearly twenty years of combat. Although it was fought under the slogan ‘Free Trade and Sailors’ Rights,’ the truth is that most mercantile houses were against it because it disrupted their lucrative trade with England and France. The War of 1812 was an unpopular war, particularly in Captain Isaac Hull’s home region of New England. And it is almost expected that the indicated tune for this ballad would be “Paul Jones’s Victory,” as the earliest edition states.Ĭommander Martin studied the four songs in this collection that relate to this battle and explains the source of some of the broadside authors’ information: It would be difficult to estimate just how many different songs were called “Constitution and Guerriere” (194). In the words of Vera Brodsky Lawrence, “floods of naval songs were published in broadside and sheet music form the newspapers were drenched with them, and the theaters presented them embellished with dramatic trappings. ![]() ![]() Hull’s victory and the succeeding naval triumphs during the remainder of 1812 and early 1813 indeed triggered deliriously live emotions in many Americans, notably in those belonging to balladeers and songwriters. The first major naval victory of the War of 1812 occurred on August 19, 1812, when Constitution, commanded by Isaac Hull (1773-1843), spectacularly vanquished the British frigate Guerriere in the battle that won his ship the name of “Old Ironsides.” In announcing the victory, the Boston Independent Chronicle foretold America’s rapturous response: “This brilliant exploit will excite the liveliest emotions in every American bosom” (August 31, 1812). ![]()
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